Weekly Meal Plan: Easy Black Beans and Chicken Meatballs

Two simple batch-cooking sessions help you coast through the week.

This weekly meal plan starts on Sunday, when a little time in the kitchen prepping ingredients and making a simple (but large) pot of black beans will set you up for Monday night’s Middle Eastern chicken meatballs and Tuesday's rice-and-beans dinner. On Wednesday you'll transform what’s left of each into a kid-friendly mezze spread, and that night’s leftover feta will top pasta with shrimp on Thursday. Finally, you’ll kick off the weekend with homemade fast food–style burgers and fries.

Make a big batch of black beans following this recipe—it takes time, but virtually no attention. While the beans simmer, do some advance prep for tomorrow night’s dinner: Pulse 2 medium onions and 4 garlic cloves in the food processor until finely chopped, and wash and de-stem the parsley and mint. Refrigerate everything separately (wrap the herbs loosely in paper towels, then stow in a plastic bag in the crisper). Be sure not to toss the fragrant bean-cooking liquid—the beans will keep better if stored with it.

Use the prepped onions and garlic (strain the mixture, if a lot of liquid has accumulated) and herbs to make a batch of Herby Chicken Kofta Meatballs. The recipe makes 16 large meatballs: you'll serve 12 meatballs tonight and set aside 4 meatballs for Wednesday night's dinner. While the meatballs roast, stir up a double-recipe of quick Lemony Yogurt Sauce. Serve the meatballs tucked into pita pockets with thinly sliced cucumber (use about 1/3 of the cuke you bought), red onion, and more mint leaves, drizzled with yogurt sauce. Save the remaining meatballs, cucumber, and sauce for Wednesday.

Tonight you’ll be using some of Sunday’s black beans for a classic, easy dinner of rice and beans. Before you start cooking the rice, assemble this quick and summery Oregano-Marinated Tomato Salad to serve on the side—it needs at least 30 minutes to get all juicy and irresistible. Cook up a batch of brown rice, reheat about half the beans, and set out sour cream, chopped avocado, pickled jalapeño, and all your hot sauces so everyone can choose their own toppings. Warm up some corn tortillas in the microwave (wrap in damp paper towels, and blast for 30-second bursts). Save the remaining beans for tomorrow.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell

Wednesday: Freewheeling Mezze Meal

Is there anything more kid-friendly than a table full of small dishes, where each person gets to take only the things they want? Make everyone happy with a mezze meal that features the leftover chicken kofta and yogurt sauce, along with a bunch of other little bites. Use some of the remaining black beans to make hummus, and add a variety of olives, feta (save 2 1/2 ounces for tomorrow night’s pasta), marinated artichokes, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber, jicama, and carrot sticks. Plus pita, of course. (Pack any leftover hummus and vegetables into tomorrow’s lunchboxes, and freeze the remaining black beans, in their liquid, in 2-cup portions.)

The feta you set aside last night adds the perfect creamy-salty punch to Greek-Style Shrimp Pasta with Kale. Start draining the canned tomatoes before you even put water on to boil in the pasta pot; that extra minute or two of draining time will help the tomatoes caramelize faster. While everything’s cooking, pop the frozen Italian bread into a 325°F oven to revive it—you’re going to want some to sop up this killer sauce.

End the week with crowd-pleasing simplicity: The BA Smash Burger and Oven-Roasted Fries. The fries take longer to cook than the burgers, so get them going first. (If you don’t have the called-for canola oil on hand, olive oil will work just fine.) While they “fry,” prep your burger accoutrements: shred the iceberg lettuce and toast your buns, if you like ‘em with a little crunch. To get everything on the table at the same time, start heating your griddle for the burgers when the fries are about 10 minutes from perfection.